“We should recognise the NHS is both part of the problem and part of the solution” says the Isle of Wight NHS Trust as it pledges to set out steps to get rid of racism in its ranks.
In the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of a white police officer in America – sparking protests all over the world including on the Isle of Wight – the Isle of Wight NHS Trust has said it stands in solidarity with its colleagues, volunteers, patients and their families from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds but that statements are not enough.
At a meeting of the trust’s board on Thursday, chair Vaughan Thomas started his report by raising an issue ‘which relates to the words ‘I can’t breathe’. He said:
“All of us have watched the events overseas and some close to home in recent weeks with increasing concern.
“Now, the easy thing would be for the trust to respond immediately saying Black Lives Matter, and we stand in solidarity with our colleagues, volunteers, patients and their families, from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds – Black lives do matter and we do stand in solidarity but we also feel deeply that these statements alone are just not enough.
“To truly be an ally of all BAME people we must take action to tackle racism from the overt, structural forms of racism to the subtle and unconscious bias that impacts so many people every day.
“We will listen to our colleagues and patients experiences of discrimination and we will learn.
“We should recognise the NHS is both part of the problem and part of the solution.
Article continues below this advertisement “We will be setting out steps we will be taking as a leadership team and as an organisation over the coming weeks.
“For now, we have a simple message to people from a BAME background across the Island – there are tens of nationalities that work on the Isle of Wight and are quite a part of our diverse community at heart – we see you and we hear you and we stand with you, because black lives do matter.”
In the NHS workforce on the Island, 9% of staff are black, Asian or minority ethnic – against latest census data that shows only 2.7% of the local population is BAME.
However, Kemi Adenubi, a non-executive director of the trust, welcomed the statement but said it needed to be turned into active support for people. She said:
“It feels a bit remote to us because we don’t see black people being killed in the way they do in America very often and it is a big deal when it happens like that in the UK.
“But there is definitely something to be said about how we look after people in our organisation and also in their lives on the Island, where they do face racism and need a level of support and ability to recognise the organisation will be behind them.
“As a starter, that statement is very helpful but we do need to turn it into active support for people where they are experiencing problems.
“It is not just lives that matter, it is the living of those lives that matter, not the dying.”
Why does it have too take death of Floyd too now start all this.nhs racism?why now! Crazy all of it.nothing new
Because governments and public services are generally reactive not proactive. Look what change this coronavirus is driving forwards. I find it interesting that the pandemic (and Floyd) has generated change in the matter of days and weeks whereas before all this change seemed to take years. Pennyfeathers would be a good example of something that needs a hard nail in its coffin and quick.
I’m going to assume that healthcare workers will read this so I will ask this question of the Floyd debacle ignoring the question of who called the ambulance and how did it arrive so quick, why did the ambulance techs just pick Floyd up without even attempting any kind of treatment? No pulse was even checked! Genuine question.
More waste of money and resources, looking for something that isn’t there. The laws are in place already, if the NHS has not been complying already then some one needs accounting for it.
You will never change human nature. It’s just virtue signalling for a problem that does not exist .